Henle

/ˈhɛn.li/

//ˈhɛn.li// name

"henle" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Henle” is uncommon English (frequency #93,787 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,787
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname from German.

Corpus desk

Index EN-henle · Henle · English

Henle · rank #93,787 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,787
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Henman

Nearest frequency peer: Henman (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “Henle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Henle” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Henle
PropertyValue
HeadwordHenle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈhɛn.li/
Letters5
Frequency rank#93,787
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Henle” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Henlefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Henman” (#93,788), “headwater” (#93,785), “Hermia” (#93,790). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “Henle” is #93,787. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Henle is uncommon English at frequency #93,787 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈhɛn.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A surname from German.".

Henle has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Henle, a diminutive of Hans. The correct English form is Henle, spelled H-E-N-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname from German.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Henle, a diminutive of Hans.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Henle"?
"Henle" is spelled H-E-N-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɛn.li/.
What does "Henle" mean?
As a proper noun, "Henle" means: A surname from German.
How do you pronounce "Henle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Henle" is /ˈhɛn.li/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Henle"?
Borrowed from German Henle, a diminutive of Hans. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Henle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list